UW Men Take Day One Lead at MPFS Championships

UW Men Take Day One Lead at MPSF Championships

Norris Frederick and Martin Bingisser each won MPSF Championships titles on Friday.

Feb. 24, 2006
Results

SEATTLE - Norris Frederick and Martin Bingisser each won conference titles, and Jeremy Mineau broke a storied UW record Friday as Washington's men's team claimed the day one lead at the 2006 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Track and Field Championships. The two-day meet, which serves as the indoor conference championships for Pac-10 and Big West schools, concludes Saturday.

The wins by Frederick and Bingisser helped propel the UW men to a first-day total of 41 points through four events scored, well ahead of second-place Cal (26) and third-place Stanford (22). Washington's women sit fifth through six events, trailing day-one leader Arizona State (54), defending-champion Stanford (36), Oregon (30) and Cal (30).

"I thought before the day that if out guys came out and performed the way they were capable of, we could be going home tonight with the lead," said fourth-year head coach Greg Metcalf. "Martin Bingisser and Norris Frederick each stepped up in a big way, and Jeremy Mineau was huge. We have a lot of guys going in finals tomorrow, too, so hopefully we can carry the momentum from today into those events."


Bingisser brought home Washington's first title of the day, posting the Huskies' best weight throw toss in 20 years with a 64-foot, 8 ¾-inch monster on his first finals throw. Competing in the event for just the second time in his UW career, Bingisser outdistanced the field by more than foot to earn UW's first MPSF Championships title in a field event since 2001.

Having waited five years between field-event titles, Husky fans needed to wait just a few hours for the next. Sophomore Norris Frederick topped the 25-foot mark in the long jump for the eighth time in his UW career, leaping 25-2 ½ on his third attemtpt for the win.

An All-American in the long jump indoors last season, Frederick's mark moved the Roosevelt High School grad into the top-15 of the national rankings. The sophomore will go for a second MPSF title in as many days Saturday, when he competes in the finals of the men's high jump.

Frederick will be one of 18 UW men competing in finals on Saturday, as Washington seeks to put three Huskies on the victory stand for just the second time in 12 years of MPSF Championships competition. Only three times previously have UW men won as many as two conference titles, including a record five such crowns in 2001, when UW earned a best-ever third-place finish.

Almost overshadowed by his teammates' victories was Mineau's stunning circuit in the men's 5,000 meters. Unseeded entering the event, the sophomore matched heavy favorite Galen Rupp of Oregon step-for-step into the final lap, his second-place time of 13 minutes, 54.03 seconds six seconds behind Rupp's winning pace but four seconds ahead of the UW indoor record of 13:58.51 set by David Bazzi five years ago.

Mineau and Bazzi -- now a UW assistant distance coach -- as the only UW men ever to break 14 minutes in the event indoors. Juniors Kevin Peters (14:16.02) and Mike Sayenko (14:18.07) also cracked UW's all-time top-10 in event on Friday, placing 10th and 11th, respectively.

"Jeremy Mineau ran an incredible race today," Metcalf said. "He's had this in him for a long time, and the conditions were just perfect today, with the field we had and the speed of this track. To run that time at this point in his career is a great sign of things to come."

Washington's outstanding young distance talent was also on display in the women's 5,000 meters, where freshman Anita Campbell placed second in an NCAA provisional-qualifying 16:33.27, and freshman Tori Tyler ran ninth in 17:07.58. Both rank among the top-10 times in UW history, while Campbell's is a UW indoor freshman record.

Campbell's mark was one of 10 NCAA provisional-qualifying efforts by UW athletes Friday, and of 17 marks among the Huskies' top-10 all-time indoors.

Washington's athletes weren't the only ones experiencing success Friday -- 60 different athletes achieved NCAA qualifying marks on the meet's first day, while four broke meet records and two shattered Dempsey Indoor facility marks.

Saturday's finals should feature more of the same -- Husky junior Ashley Lodree will bid for MPSF titles in the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles, while sophomore Jordan Boase will be the favorite in the men's 200 meters after leading all qualifiers Friday in 21.19 seconds.

Senior Davaon Spence also qualified for two finals Saturday, including a 60-meter dash final in which he will be joined by UW quarterback Isaiah Stanback. Stanback's time of 6.81 seconds in Friday's 60-meter dash prelims equaled UW's ninth-fastest all-time, while Spence's 21.64 posting in the 200-meter prelim ranks eighth all-time at UW.

For complete day one results from the 2006 MPSF Championships, visit www.gohuskies.com.